Sorting device



SORTING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 27, 1940 4 W m w 7 7 0 a w 4 V fi Z 3; 7 MM my, 5 7 pk ATTORNEY Oct. 26, 1943.

Filed April 27, 1940 H. E. GANTZER SORTING DEVICE 3 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORN g E w 0 -2 9 3- H. E. GANTZER 2,33 0

SORTING DEVICE Filed April 27, 1940 3 sheets-sheep 5 INVENTOR ineffective to properlysor-t such caps.

Patented Oct. 26, 1943 (UN TED: STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,332,7ll0 I I I I SORTIN G DEVICE Howard E. Gantzer, Kenmore, N. Y.,assignor to Consolidated Packaging Machinery Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 2'1, 1940, Serial No. 331,914

3 Claims (o1. 226-881) My present invention relates to a sorter and, more particularly, to a, sorter for container caps.

Various 1 devices. for 1 the; sorting of container caps are in successful use in connection with container caps, whose width or diameter is substantially greater than the depth thereof which caps are commonly referred to as flat caps. A sorter particularly adapted for such caps is disclosed and claimed in: my earlierPatent No. 2,073,472,

the sorting wheelin such. a manner as to emmechanicallysimple andunlikely to need repairs.

ciently and rapidly'iefiect the sortingofflat caps.

When thedepth'of a cap becomes substantially equal to its width or diameter and when the depth actually exceeds-the diameter, they are com monly known as deep caps and it has been found that sorting devices' of the prior art are Accordingly, it is anobject of my invention to provide a sorting device which will operate upon so-called It is a further object of my invention to provide a deep' cap sortirigdevice in which the caps are virtually self-sorting as a result of their physical characteristics. i

It is a further object of'rny invention to provide 1 a sorting device for deep caps which includes a receptacle adapted 'tofhold a plurality of unsorted caps; and a rotatable sorting wheel locat ed within said receptacle'and having a plurality of pockets formed around theperiphery there- .of', the pockets being adapted to receive 'and retain for movement to a discharge station caps presented thereto from the receptacle in an axial direction with the centersof gravity thereof falling within the defined axial limits of thepockets. It is a further objectof my invention to provide asorting device of the character stated which includes a receptacle adapted to contain a plurality of unsorted caps, "a sorting member located adjacent onefie'nd of theireceptacle, an inclined 7 wall formed in the receptacle along which caps, "may gravitate into contact with the sorting member and discharge meansassociated with the sort .ing member and adapted to receive from the sorting member the caps. retained i therein.

It is a further object of my invention to provide Otherandfurther objects of my invention will become more clearly apparent from a consid era tion of the following description taken in conn'ec tion with the drawings. accompanyingand forming a part ofthis specification. The description and drawings set forth a preferred butnot necessarily the only form of my invention. 3 In the drawings, a Fig. 1 is a general sectional View of a sorter constructed according to my invention; Fig. 2 is a section along the line 'Z- -Z of Fig. 1. and illustrates details of a'give way drive mechanism; g m v 5 .Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3,.of Fig.1 and constitutes a generalfrontview of the device; Figs. 4 and 5 are sections along the lines 4--4 and respectively iof Fig. 3 and illustrate detailsof the cap receiving chute;

Figs. '6, 7,8, 9 and'lO aredetailed views illustrating the action of the device: in the sorting of deepcaps;

Figswll and 12 are detailed views illustrating the discharge ofucaps from the sorting-wheel to the receiving chute; and i 3 i Fig. 13 is a sectional view of a deep-cap of; one type which may be effectively operated: upon by the device of the present invention. Similar characters of reference indicatesimilar, parts throughout thexseveral views. r i i Referringinow to thedrawings in Fig. 1,.there is shown a standard [0 which may. be associated in any desired manner with a capping machine or otherdevice with which'a cap sorter may ordi-inarily be used. The standard. l0 serves as a support for the cap sorting device of the present invention. Thecap sorting device may comprise in general a hopper I i 'provided with a suitable truncated ,cone forming a continuation of the conical conformation of the "hopper H. The

flange l6 ispreferablydetachably connected to the hopper H. as by cap screws. l1.

The hopper l I is further. provided, with a bear.-

ing support |8 in which is rotatably mounted a shaft l9 whose axis generally coincides with the axis of the conical body of the hopper I I. The shaft I9 is provided With a collar 2| against which the hub 2| of a sorting wheel indicated generally at 22 may be abutted and held for rotation with the shaft I9 as by a nut 23 threadably received upon a reduced portion24 of-the 'eral .a disk which may have suitable reinforcing ribs 21 and 23 formed thereon to rigidify the same.

tapered surface which extends inwardly of the body of the hopper H. The tapered surface'3il of the rim 29 is generally parallel to the interior surface 3| of the flange l6 and is preferably spaced therefrom a distance slightly greater than the diameter of caps with which the device is to be used. The surfaces 3!] and 3| form an inclined circular passageway or chamber into which caps may enter when lying on their sides. The rim 29 has formed on its outer periphery a ring 32 in which is formed a series 'of pocekts 33. The pockets 33 are in general semi-circular and are of a radius substantially equal to the radius of caps with which the device is to be used. As will be more fully explained hereinafter, the periphery of the sorting Wheel and the inclined surface are located in such a position relative to the surface 3| of flange l6 that caps contained within the hopper I! will be directed endwise to the pockets'33.

'Thering 26 has an annular portion 34 adapted to overlie a portion of the'rim' 29 and adapted to form a closure for the outer ends of the pockets 33 whereby to limit the extentof entrance of caps into-the'pockets 33. The ring 26 is mounted for adjustment relative to the wheel '25 for the accommodation '-of caps of different depths or characteristics. To this end, the ring 26 is drilled and tapped to receive a hollow adjusting screw 35 provided with a suitable head 36. The wheel 25 is drilled. andtapped to receive an elongated bolt 3'! terminating in a head 38.. The bolt 31 passes freely through the bore of the hollow screw 35 and may be drawn down uponthe head .36 of the screw 35 to hold the ring 26 rigidlyiagainst the wheel '25. Adjustment may be efiected by loosening the bolt 3'! and moving the screw 35 tochange the position of the inner end thereof whereby the spacing between the ring 26 and the wheel 25 may be predetermined. 'It will be understood that as manyof the adjustingscrews 35 and bolts 3'! may be disposed around the circumference of the ring 26 necessary or desirable. :1 The flange l6 may havev formed in the upper half of its'interiorsurface a groove 39. The dias may be deemed mensions of this' groove and its position relative Adjacent its outer periphery the disk 25 is provided with a rim 2!! having an inwardly The wheel 25 is in gen- Referring now to Fig. 13, there is shown one form of cap for which the present invention is particularly designed. The cap is indicated generally by the reference numeral 43 and includes differently, that the center of gravity of the cap A will be offset from the geometrical center thereor. In. Fig. 13, the location of the center of l gravity has been approximately indicated. While this particular form of cap is described herein and the operation of my device upon such cap is described herein in detail, it will be understood that my device is applicable to caps of a top heavy or unsymmetrical nature no matter how they may be constructed. Thus, the center or gravity may be shifted away from the geometrical center of a cap by the added weight of a closure web, sealing plug or other thickened wall formation for any purpose whatsoever and it is obvious that this condition would exist in caps bearing a fancy head formation.

As shown in the drawings, the'ring 32 is of a width considerably less than the depth of the caps with which the deviceis to be used. The stop ring 34 is adjusted as explained aboveto such a position that a cap may enter-into the pockets 33 to an extentgreater than the distance from one end of the'cap to the center'of gravity thereof but less than the. distance from the other'end of the cap to the. centerof gravity. Thus, when a capis introduced into a pocket 33, heavyend foremost, the centerof gravity will belocated' Within the pocket while, if the cap is introduced light end foremost, the center of gravity will lieoutside' the pocket. Referring nowto Figs. 6, 7 and 8, there is illustrated three different ways in which caps may berpresented to the sorting wheel. In .Fig. 6, a

cap 43 has abutted the inner rim of the inner edge of the rim 29 in a generally upright position. As shown in this figure, the heavy end 45 of the cap is resting upon the surface 3| of the flange l6 although it will be understood that the cap may beinverted and that the light end thereof may be in contact with said surface 3L. In either event, the upright cap cannot enter'the passageway between surfaces 3| and 30 because the depth of the cap is greater than the distance between said surfaces. As thesorting wheel continues its rotation, a cap, positioned as in Fig. 6, may remain in this position and be prevented'from entering the passageway or the-cap may be thrown over upon its side as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 7 from which latter position it may enter the passageway between surfaces 30 and 3|. Whenthe cap enters the passageway, it is then relatively freefrom pressure caused by the body of unsorted caps within the hopper H and continued rotation of the wheel will tend to cause the cap to swing around into a. longitudinal position wherein it may enter a pocket 33. This longitudinal position may be as illustrated in full lines in Fig. '7 in which the light end 44 of the cap has first entered the pocket or the position may be that illustrated in full lines in Fig. 8 in which the heavy end has first entered the pocket. It will be understood that a number of caps will be continuously entering the passageway between surfaces 3|! and 3| and that of such number'cera a discharge chute to the sorting Wheel may groove 35.

which isspaced therefrom at such periphery of the ring 32.

plane of the "tainof them will follow" the procedur 'just' outlined while'others' may slide directly in alongitudinal direction through the passageway and into a pocket 33, the wheelconti nues rotation, the caps seated in the pockets 33- will} of gravity lie outside the pockets will be'dislodged thereby upwardly along the inner circumference therefrom andwill fallback into the hopper ll,

while those caps whosecenters of gravity lie within the" pockets will remain seated therein. vIn

Fig.9, a cap 43 whose center of gravity lies olltside the periphery of wheel'32 is shown as it is about to fall from a pocket. While in this figure the cap is shown at an upper tangential. position ofth'e sorting wheel, it will be understood that the caps will normally be" dislodged from the pockets by frictional drag 'uponxthe surface 3! or by contact with other caps or by the action of gravity almost as soon as they have been removed from the lower" portion of the" hopper H.

i 'In Fig. 10, there is illustrated a cap .43 whose center of gravity lies within the periphery of the ring 3'2 As shown in this figure, the overhanging light end 44' of the cap projects into the groove 39 and is given sufficient clearance'within said groove that sition within the pocket 33-h. The vertical wall 39' of the groove 39 will cooperate with the end-of the capto assist in holding the same in position within the pocket; i f i Itwill thus be seen that I have provided a sortingwheel which will conduct caps to the groove 39' in a uniform manner with the open .ends thereof extending rearwardly.

Referring now toFigs. 3, 4 and 5, there is shown which the caps carried by be conducted. As shown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5,the' flange [6 has formed therein an extension 48 having a flat vertical face disposed in a plane rearwardof the planeof the sorting wl'i'eeland preferably forming a continuation of the plane of the vertical wall 38- of the Secured to the extension 48 as by screws t9, there isaplate 50 having a'forwardly turned flange 5! which is curved to generally conform with the curvature of the sorting. wheel and a distance that caps within the pockets 33 will be engaged and guided by the flange 5|. "There is also-secured to the extension 48 a downwardly extending spacer member 52 which may form a vertical continuation of the curved inner surface of flange 51 A second spacer member'53 is provided. As shown in the drawings, the member 53 is bevelled at 5a in order to form a relatively sharp edge 55 extending into A cover plate or guide 56 is secured to thespacer members 52 and 53 h on the forward surfaces thereof while a pair of guides 51 and 58 are secured to the rear surfaces of the spacer members 52 and 53' in such a position as to form a substantial continuation of the extension 48. Preferably, theguides 57 and 58 are individually attached to the respective spacer members 52 and 53 and are spaced from one another to provide a slot 59 through which caps within the passageway may be observed and through which atool may be inserted for clearing any jams whichmight possibly occur. The spacer members 52 and 53 together with thefront and rear guidesili and 51, 58 are so= it may assume a horizontal; .po- V close proximity to the outer proportioned. as: to form a discharge chute hav ing a passageway. into whic'h a cap will "fit with Just sumcientclearance for the free passage of the cap therethrough; It will be understood that this discharge chute may extend for any distance necessary to convey the selected caps too; canping-device or" other machine for further operae tiorisfupon the caps;

It will be apparent that the sorting device just described will del' iver sorted caps to the discharge chute-in an rrregular manner-because there may be relatively large variations in the number of caps delivered in successive rotations of the sort ing wheel; container cappingmachineorsirne ilar devicewith which this sort'ermay j-be'us'e'd will normally place a "steady demand upon the discharge chute anditis; therefore, essential that the sorting device shall have a normal or average capacity in excess of the demand placed thereon. Accordingly, it is preferred to drive the sorting wheel 25 at such a speed that an ample supply of sorted caps will be: furnished to the discharge chute. It is to be normally expected that driving the sorting wheel at such a speed will o'c'c'a sion'ally tend' to furnish more caps than are nec essary to meet the demands upon the discharge chute. In'Fig's. I l and I2, I haveillust'ratedtwo conditions which may exist inthe useof my device. In Fig. 11, a cap 43 is shown in a pocket 13 of the sorting wheel 25 and a number of caps 43 are shown in the discharge chute. It will b'e assumed that the discharge chute is entirely filled with caps to the level or the uppermost cap illustrated therein. When the whee1 25 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the pocket 3'3 in which the cap 43 is positionedwill'move across the mouth or the discharge chute and the cap '43 will gravitate from the pock'et illto the chute 'as-indicated in broken lines; As long as the level of the uppermost cap within the discharge chute does not rise above that indicated in Fig. 11,'caps will continue to gravitate from successively presentedpockets 33. However, when the discharge chute becomes filled, as illustrated in Fig. 12, the

. uppermost cap therein illustrated cannot be rotation upon the shaft IS. A sleeve 60 isTsecured to the worm wheel as by cap screws 6|. The sleeve 60" is mounted for free rotation upon an inner sleeve 62' which iswthreadedunontlre shaft 19 and keyed: tlreretoasbya key 63-. The inner sleeve 82 has formed therein: arecess-BA which. terminates in. an. abutment 65. The outer sleeve .60 hasv a body fio wnichuis keyedthereto bya key W. The body fishes arr-extension 68 upon which is pivoted;- as as 69; one end or-an ann- The opposite endof the arm: 1 0 has pivoted thereto a rod 1 l' extending through a socket 12 formed uponythe body 66'. An -expansi ble spring 13- is seated'withinftne socket 12 and a suitable nut 14 is" threaded upon the free end one end" of the spring 13 l A roller 1 5 is mounted intermediate the" ends of rod 1'!" in a position to adjustably bearupon When the. worm wheel 4| is rotated in the di-'- .rection of the arrow in Fig.2, the sleeve'60 and give-way. body 66. will rotate therewith. When the roller is seatedwithin the recess 64, it will be held against the abutment .65 by the action of spring 13 and will serve to transmit rotation of the give-way body to the inner sleeve 62 and shaft l9. This driving relationship will continue until a condition such as that illustratedv in Fig. '12 arises. When further rotation ofthe sorting wheel is thus resisted the roller 15 ,Will be cammed, against the force of spring 73, over the abutment 6,5 and will thereafter make one idle 'revolution over the'peripheral surface of the inner sleeve 62. During this time no further rotation will be imparted to-thesorting wheel 25,. An inoperative position of the arm 1D, and recess '64 is illustrated in-dotted lines at W and .64 respectively in Fig. 2. If a cap or a number of caps have been removed from the discharge chute during the idle revolution of the give-Way mechanism, rotation of the sorting wheel will be resumedwhen'the roller 75 is rotated to a position to seat within recess 64. If no caps have been removed from the discharge chute, it is :obvious that the give-way mechanism may continueits idle rotation for an indefinite periodof time. y 1 v Whilethe above detailed description has been directed to the use of my invention in sorting objects whose longitudinal dimensions aregreater than their transverse dimensions, it may be here. observed that the invention is also applicable for use with objects of cylindrical form whose longitudinal or axial dimensions are equal to or even slightly less than their diameters. A cylindrical object presents a circular :outline or projection when viewed along its axis and presents a rectangular outline or projection when viewed transversely of itsaxis. It will be apparent therefore that a cylindrical object will beadmitted to the space defined by a semi-circular aperture 33 and the surface 31 of flange l6 if its circular outline is presented to such space. It will be further apparent that the same object will not be admitted or at least will; not be admitted to a suflicient extent for engagement if the rectangular outline is presented.

The above disclosure has been made in compliance with the Patent Statutes and is not intended to be taken in a limiting sense. -The details are illustrative only and modifications and variations may beresorted to by those skilled in the art."' a

I claim:

1. A device for sorting objects the endwise projections of which differ from their sidewise projections and having their centers of gravity nearer one end than the other, comprising a sorting member having a plurality of object-receiving pockets, said pockets including object-supporting surfaces having effective axial lengths less than the length of said objects and being adapted to receive the endwise projection of saidobjects and to exclude the sidewise projection thereof; means limiting the entrance of said objects into said pocketsto an extent greater than the least distance from an end to the center of gravity and.

less than the greatest distance from an end to 4 the center of gravity; and. means to move said pockets through positions in which the supporting surfaces of said pocketsconstitute the only available support for the objects received therein ,against. the action of gravity whereby only those .objects whose centers of gravity lie within the vertical projection of the supporting surfaces of said pockets will receive effective support against the action of gravity and will be retained within 'said pockets.

sorting member having a plurality of objectreceiving pockets, said pockets including objectsupporting surfaces having effective axial lengths less than the length of said objects and being adapted to receive the endwise projection of said objects and to exclude the sidewise projection thereof; means limiting the entrance of said-objects into said pockets to an extent greater than the least'distance from an end to the center of gravityand less than the greatest distance from an end to the center of gravity; means to move said pockets, said last-named means moving said pockets through positions in which the supporting surfaces of said pockets constitute the only available support for the objects received therein against the action of gravity whereby only those objects whose centers of gravity lie within the vertical projection of the supporting surfaces of said pockets will receive effective support against the action of gravity and will be retained within said'pockets; and discharge means to which said pockets are thereafter moved by said pocketmoving means, said discharge means receiving from said pockets the objects retained therein.

3. A device for sorting objects the endwise projections of, which differ from their sidewise projections and having their centers of gravity nearer one end than the other, comprising a receptacle adapted to hold a plurality of unsorted objects, said receptacle having'an inclined wall;

a rotable sorting wheel having a plurality of outwardly radially disposed and radially opening pockets formed around the periphery thereof, said pockets being located with respect to said inclined wall in a position to receive objects gravitating downwardly along said inclined wall, said pockets including cap-supporting surfaces having effective axial lengths less than the length of said caps and being adapted to receive the endwise projection of said objects and to exclude the sidewiseprojection thereof; a ring formed on said rotable Wheel having a surface of frusto-conical form, the slant of said frusto-conical surface being equal to the incline of said inclined wall whereby said surface and said inclined wall define an annular passageway leading to said obj ectreceiving pockets; means limiting the entrance of said objects into said pockets to an extent greater than the least distance from an end to the center of gravity and less than the greatest distance from an end to the center of gravity; means to rotate said wheel, said last named means moving said pockets through positions in which the supporting surfaces of said pockets constitute the only available support for the objects received therein against'the action of gravity whereby only those objects whose centers of gravity lie within the vertical projection of the supporting surfaces of the said pockets will receive effective support against the action of gravity and will be retained within said pockets; and discharge means to which said pockets are thereafter moved by said wheel-rotating means, said discharge means receiving from said pockets the objects HOWARD E. GANTZER. 

